Governor Edwards Attends Republican Hosted Retreat

It might sound surprising that Louisiana's new Governor, Democrat John Bel Edwards, spent time at a Republican hosted event in Lafayette. Then it always sound surprising to we the people when it appears that our elected officials are putting party preferences aside to actually discuss solutions that matter to the people of our state.

Yes, that is an opinion. Yes, I am cynical. Yes, I hope that these men and women will stop being Democrats and Republicans and remember that they are citizens of Louisiana elected to help all of the people of our state. Please stop thinking about power for your party and return the power to the people. Okay, I am off my soapbox.

The governor needs all the help he's going to get and there aren't enough Democrats to help him. So, he's got to go where the help is.

Cross said that in the Republican controlled legislature the only way for Edwards' plans to get the support they need is by enlisting the aid and support of GOP members of the House and Senate.

To get his proposals any air, he has to get some Republican votes and I think he knows that very clearly.

So, was there any big Earth shattering bi-partisan agreement reached at this retreat? We won't really know until later this month when the legislature is called into special session to deal with the budget crisis. Then we will know if Edwards' attempt to reach across the aisle actually made a difference.

Until it all starts to play out, in terms of legislation filed and so on, we're just not going to have much of an idea where it's really going to come out.